NEW DELHI — After crossing the finish line at the Indian Grand Prix on Sunday, Sebastian Vettel yelled into his car radio, “Yes! Yes!”

Then, disobeying his engineer’s request to return to the pits, he drove to the middle of the track in front of a grandstand containing thousands of cheering Indian fans, and spun his car in series of smoking donuts. He climbed out, walked to the front of the car, got down on his hands and knees and did several bows of appreciation.

Vettel had not only driven another perfect race in his Red Bull to win the Indian Grand Prix and take his sixth victory in a row this season and his third victory in a row in India. Most important, he had just won his fourth world drivers’ title in a row.

He may have been left speechless, but his team director, Christian Horner, had put it into words over the radio moments before: “You’ve done it in style, Sebastian. You are a four-time world champion. You have joined the greats.”

The German driver, 26, had just become only the fourth driver in Formula One history to win four drivers’ titles, after Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher. None of his predecessors has done it so young, with Prost having not yet even won his first Grand Prix by the same age. It was the 36th victory of Vettel’s career.

His teammate, Mark Webber, dropped out of the race with an alternator problem on Lap 40, but the 25 points that Vettel earned for the victory, were enough to hand their Red Bull team its fourth constructors’ title in a row as well.

Vettel finished an astonishing 29.8 seconds ahead of Nico Rosberg in second in a Mercedes. Romain Grosjean finished third in a Lotus, 10 seconds farther back.

In a long press conference after the race, Vettel, who was also the youngest world champion, double world champion and triple world champion, looked emotionally overwhelmed, and said repeatedly that he had no idea how to put the series of titles and achievements into perspective.

“I am overwhelmed, I don’t know what to say,” he said. “I think it is one of the best days of my life so far. When I was small, Formula One was always so far away, and to race against these drivers was so far away.

“I might be 60 some day and then understand,” he added. “It is difficult to realize something that no one can take away from you.”

Before the race, there had been only one other driver capable of preventing Vettel from taking the title: Fernando Alonso, of Ferrari. But for that to happen, Alonso had to finish first or second; if Vettel, however, finished in the top five, he would take the title.

In a desperate bid to overcome his slower car’s faults, Alonso’s Ferrari team decided to try a different tire strategy to that of Vettel. The German had started on the softer, faster, but more easily wearing tires, while Alonso’s Ferrari was equipped with the harder, slightly slower but longer lasting medium tires.

The idea was that Alonso, who qualified only eighth, would stay out longer and make up positions, while Vettel did his pit stop earlier in the race. But Alonso’s chances were all but gone when on the first lap he made contact with Webber’s car and damaged his front wing, and steering, and had to make a pit stop after one lap.

He never regained position, finishing the race in 11th place and failing to score points for only the second time this season. With three races left, Vettel has a 115-point lead on Alonso, and only a maximum of 75 points remain to be earned.

“I was a bit unlucky because I think Mark was also having contact with someone and the third part of that equation was me,” Alonso said of Webber, adding that he had lost time in a battle with the McLaren of Jenson Button as well. “The race was uphill from that moment.”

Webber had tried the same tire strategy as Alonso, and after starting fourth on the grid, and then dropping to seventh on the first lap, he led the race from Lap 9 to Lap 28.

Vettel made a pit stop after only one lap and dropped down to 16th position, and it looked like his race might be compromised as well. But he scythed his way up the pack and was in second position by Lap 21. When Webber made his first pit stop after Lap 28, Vettel took the lead again, while Alonso was still only in 12th position.

Vettel then made another pit stop after Lap 31, and returned in second position. Webber then made another pit stop, handing the lead back to Vettel, and then dropping out of the race after Lap 40.

Having put his fourth title behind him, and now winning six victories in a row this season, Vettel is aiming to equal the record of Alberto Ascari of nine consecutive victories, set between the two seasons of 1952 and 1953. Schumacher is second in the record books with seven consecutive victories, in 2004.

When asked about all of his achievements, Vettel again looked overwhelmed: “If you try to write a story like that, you can’t; you can’t be creative enough.”

Peace offering Basking in the euphoria of his fourth straight Formula One world championship title, Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull moved toward making peace with fans from other teams who have booed his victories at several races, The Associated Press reported from Greater Noida, India.

Vettel, who claimed his fourth title after winning the Indian Grand Prix on Sunday, has been greeted by booing during his podium appearances in Italy, Singapore and other races by fans who appear not to appreciate the clinical manner in which he wins them.

“It hurts not to get the reception you expect, but I’m clever enough to know why they do it,” Vettel said. “I’m not blaming them.”

The German remains more concerned with getting the respect of his F1 rivals.

“I think the most important thing for me is to get the respect of the people I know and race against, and I feel respected among the drivers,” he said. “You have to fight for getting that respect when you come into F1.”

On the podium Sunday, Nico Rosberg and Romain Grosjean hoisted Vettel on their shoulders.

As for the less appreciative crowds, Vettel says he understands their emotions. “I don’t blame the people that booed. If I go to a football stadium I cheer for the home team,” he said.

“Maybe if I was a fan of McLaren, Ferrari, one of the traditional teams, I wouldn’t like it if the same guy and the same team wins again and again.”

Costly gesture Vettel’s post-victory celebrations on Sunday led to a reprimand by Formula One’s governing body along with a fine, Reuters reported from Greater Noida.

He was summoned by the stewards for ignoring post-race procedures and performing crowd-pleasing “doughnuts” with the car spinning in a circle of tire smoke at the end of the pit straight.

Vettel then climbed out, bowed down in front of the car and clambered up a wire fence to throw his driving gloves to spectators.

The stewards noted in a statement that he had failed “to proceed directly from the circuit to post-race parc fermé without unnecessary delay” in a breach of the sporting regulations. “Parc fermé” refers to a secure area.

“Due to special circumstance the stewards accepted the explanation of the driver,” the statement added.

Red Bull, which also celebrated its fourth successive constructors’ title, was fined €25,000, or $34,500.